Maintenance.

[rappa]

The other issue with this is weight and transportability. The weight of the ride which was intended as a park model in addition to any extra weight that would be needed in the trailer to stabilise the ride may be too much to be allowed to transport. The other issue is that the design of the ride was not to facilitate easy and regular dismantling and reconstruction so some pretty major mods may be required. I'm sure some of our ex WL employee members could tell us how long this normaly took for anual maint.

[Bussy]

The last annual maintenance it undertook it still going. To begin with everyone was told it was closed for annual but it never came back. "The Bus is now leaving for Close Well, Western Australia"

[rappa]

LOL good point. Much like Dragons really...

[Daniel]

The last annual maintenance it undertook it still going.  To begin with everyone was told it was closed for annual but it never came back.

Ed Zachary!

[djsupersleuth]

The other issue with this is weight and transportability. The weight of the ride which was intended as a park model in addition to any extra weight that would be needed in the trailer to stabilise the ride may be too much to be allowed to transport. The other issue is that the design of the ride was not to facilitate easy and regular dismantling and reconstruction so some pretty major mods may be required.   I'm sure some of our ex WL employee members could tell us how long this normaly took for anual maint.

As I was responsible for it's last annual I can say that the intent from the outset was to see it operating again but after inspection of critical parts and subsequent pricing to replace those parts (about 70k at last count) 20k for each slew gear bearing, the decision was made by management not to continue with the work, an obvious sign (hindsight) of what was to come. If it was trailer mounted I dont think the fully assembled weight minus the cars would be too much for road transport, it would require the trailer too be a low loader type with additions like outriggers to stabilise at setup. Then a second truck for all the cars, platforms and associated equipment.

[rappa]

It is amazing though that in that final year 2 rides which had been operating forever SUDDENLY had critical flaws discovered that needed expensive repairs...

[T-bone]

I remember that one. With the grey boards and all that around the ride, xmas 03 I believe. Around that time frame anyway. And going on the "Great race" or whatever name they ended up calling it, you could see they actually were doing Maintenence on it. My Visit on the 9th April 2004, it was gone, queue area a Picnic Area and the actual ride space just pine chips, same applied for Dragons, and the Lion Cubs area gone, well area still there, but the Lions were gone.

[zordmaker]

It is amazing though that in that final year 2 rides which had been operating forever SUDDENLY had critical flaws discovered that needed expensive repairs...

No it's not amazing actually. A rubber band breaks suddenly, it doesnt take years to break. That doesn't mean that you can't still use it as a rubber band just before it breaks. Same with anything mechanical. It works up until the day that it stops working. Then it no longer works. ZordMaker

[djsupersleuth]

It is amazing though that in that final year 2 rides which had been operating forever SUDDENLY had critical flaws discovered that needed expensive repairs...

This quote can be taken two ways: You are saying that the closure of Dragons and Taz was the reason why the park closed. or: You are trying to say these problems were there for a long time but not found No it is not amazing for rides to show signs of constant use as was the case with Taz, and the crack which appeared in the mast at Dragons may have started out small but was found once it became noticeable to the naked eye and still long before it could have caused an accident.

[rappa]

Yes but the timing is certainly damn convenient don't you think? My point is that the park was going down hill for a few years, towards the end of this period rides started breaking... couldn't be perhaps that they weren't given the proper attention in the lead up to them 'suddenly' breaking. I'm not expecting anyone to confirm what I am saying, there is a strange thing about Wonderland. Even though the place was a crap whole by the end an it was a DAMN long time since it was run properly, employees always seem to have the opinion the place was perfect and they could do no wrong... Had the problem with Taz been came around 6 years earlier it would have been fixed. Also a 20 thousand dollar bearing is no little component of a ride, its not general use that SUDDENLY causes components like this to fail. Lets just look at it from face value, the numbers just don't add up.

[Daniel]

Even though the place was a crap whole by the end an it was a DAMN long time since it was run properly, employees always seem to have the opinion the place was perfect and they could do no wrong...

Get stuffed!!! :eek:

[rappa]

Merely an observation, no need to get defensive. In fact Daniel you're probably the one exception who does say it was **** if it was.

[Daniel]

Muhahaha

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Rappa - don't forget the one about BooBoo's Balloon Race. it closed around June 2001, and cracks were discovered in the basket fibreglass, and it was deemed too expensive at the time to repair a ride that was going to be in an area that was soon to close. Later down the track (around march 2002) the parts were suddenly shipped offsite, and we all thought it was gone for good... until it arrived back a week later with a brand new paint job... ready to be put back together. it did a few months in HBL until HBL closed, and was then moved to skyhawk's old site. Zordy... as far as your little Rubber Band Analogy... we're not talking about a rubber band here... we're talking about very expensive components. generally, most of the mechanics inside these rides showed signs of wear and tear and abuse, before they became "unusable". if detected early enough, they were replaced before they failed. Finding cracks in major support structures cannot always be detected on daily inspections, and it takes a trip to the workshop for them to be able to pull the whole thing apart and find these problems. Yes Its interesting that these major flaws were found, and it was resolved not to be fixed at the time, and i think that can be put down to the whole "we're closing down soon" thing... but amazing how it was so inefficient to repair it for Wonderland, but some of those same rides then received new parts just in time to be shipped to a new location in another park...?

[jcgoldcoast]

Maby part of the deal for selling the rides to other parks was that they arrived in full working condtiton? (other than being setup, of course)

[joz]

I doubt it. Most rides you can buy are sold "as is", and often need extensive work to be done to them. Just look at the parachute drop (forget what it got called when it was at Wonderland... Sky something?), that thing was/is a real write off. Its still not working on the Gold Coast, and with the amount the owners have spent on it they could've bought a new one.

[djsupersleuth]

Had the problem with Taz been came around 6 years earlier it would have been fixed. Also a 20 thousand dollar bearing is no little component of a ride, its not general use that SUDDENLY causes components like this to fail.

Who ever said that these bearings failed? The fact is they did not fail but were worn ( from general use ) which is a normal factor in a bearings service life. These bearings fulfilled their service life and were due to be replaced which management decided not to carry out and the rest is history.

[Zamperla]

Yes this French designed ride does have many highly specialised components. (Reverchon). It was way ahead of it's time when designed around 1980 - as far as 'Matterhon' rides go, this was by far the most advanced and enjoyable design IMO. As for it not being trailer mounted? Well Wonderland's example was possibly the only PERMANENTLY mounted example of this ride, possibly in the world? I would say it was built in Melbourne Australia like 4 or 5 were back in the early to mid 1980's under license to Reverchon specifications. Other examples in Australia include these 2: Luna Park Melbourne (trailer mounted) http://www.ride-extravaganza.com/rides/exp...explorer_05.jpg And this portable one which has since been sold to China (it too required some specialised bearings replaced, and thus proved economically not-viable for its prior owners. http://www.ride-extravaganza.com/rides/exp...explorer_03.jpg The ride has a highly compact single trailer design (yes single trailer!) These pictures demonstrate it with this ex-Dutch version, by far the best operating example of one in the world. (now in Ireland) [photo's of it being racked can be seen at the bottom] http://www.australianamusementfanatics.com...topic.php?t=494 It remains one of my all time favourite rides. It was interesting how much smaller the Tazzy Devil looked compared to transportable versions. I was once told by a maintenance man that it was in fact smaller, but I don't think this is true. Same usual 20 seat capacity, DjSuperSleuth can you confirm this? I would love to see some decent photo's of it, do you have any? Feel free to email me some! I've written up a small section on the ride on my webpage also http://www.ride-extravaganza.com/rides/explorer/

[T-bone]

Who owned the one at the Canberra Show seen above as Explorer?

[djsupersleuth]

And this portable one which has since been sold to China (it too required some specialised bearings replaced, and thus proved economically not-viable for its prior owners. It remains one of my all time favourite rides. It was interesting how much smaller the Tazzy Devil looked compared to transportable versions. I was once told by a maintenance man that it was in fact smaller, but I don't think this is true. Same usual 20 seat capacity, DjSuperSleuth can you confirm this?

[rappa]

I have to agree that this is one of my favourite flat rides and it is something I do actually miss from wonderland. Even now as an adult I still don't really understand how all the mechanics of that central hub works and would love to see it pictured and explained in detail. The counter rotating gears, hydralic lifts and all the rings contained under that top cap certainly make for some interesting mechanics to watch.

[Bussy]

I'm not expecting anyone to confirm what I am saying, there is a strange thing about Wonderland. Even though the place was a crap whole by the end an it was a DAMN long time since it was run properly, employees always seem to have the opinion the place was perfect and they could do no wrong...

Being an ex-employee I have never said that the place was perfect but it was far from being as bad as some people who have absolutely no idea what went on behind the scenes think or have been told. Dragons was a very unexpected shut down. The ride was down for annual when they discovered the crack in the mast. Obviously they couldn't continue to operate the ride so it was closed. What I find funny about that is they packed up the whole ride, cracked mast and all and shipped it to Malaysia. "The Bus is now leaving for Crackneck Point, NSW"

[Daniel]

Plaster cast is a magical thing!

[Bulletproof]

Hey slueth let the games begin

[Bulletproof]

l worked with the maintenance crew at wonderland. All the guys that worked there from the beginning till the close of the park should be made gods for the excellent record of safety achieved in the history of themeparks.